Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails

If you’re serious about cocktails and want to push past the basics, “Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails” is the kind of book that changes how you think about mixing drinks. I’ve worked through a lot of the recipes, and each one feels like a new experience—these aren’t your standard three-ingredient classics. The drinks are creative and balanced, and I’ve found flavors I never would have thought to combine.That said, this book is definitely geared toward more advanced home bartenders. A lot of the recipes call for ingredients you won’t find at your average grocery store. I’ve had to order bottles online and set aside space for syrups and infusions I never used before. If you don’t have a well-stocked bar or aren’t willing to hunt down specialty items, you might find some recipes out of reach. It’s not the most budget-friendly approach, either.What I appreciate is that, even with all the complexity, the book doesn’t talk down to you or get lost in technical jargon. The instructions are clear, and there’s plenty of background on techniques and philosophy without getting too dense. It’s more accessible than something like “Liquid Intelligence,” which can feel like a science textbook at times.The layout is clean, and the photography is inspiring. I’ve flagged a dozen recipes to revisit, and every time I make one for friends, it’s a conversation starter. My favorite part is how the book encourages you to experiment—once you get the hang of the style, you start riffing on your own.If there’s a drawback, it’s the ingredient lists. Some recipes are a project, and you need to plan ahead. But if you’re looking to level up your cocktail game and don’t mind a little extra effort, this book delivers. It’s become a staple on my bar cart, and I keep coming back whenever I want something that feels special.

I bought this book on recommendation from a favorite bartender. It's one of the better-value kitchen books I own: long, super dense, and cloth-bound, with high-quality photos and drawings. It's part instructions (how to properly shake and stir, how to taste spirits, what types of ingredients go well together, how to form intuition for the right amount of sweet vs. sour), part recipes, and part memoir / vignettes from the NYC bar. It's pretty impressive how erudite these guys are; they write with convincing authority, and the kind of mastery that makes the book feel like an aspiration that you know you will never fully achieve, but that you can keep turning to again and again to learn more.It gets five stars because I use it all the time and find it a fount of random wisdom and interesting asides, but I should note a few things:- There are no vodka recipes...they think vodka is boring.- Many of the drink recipes require obscure ingredients or expensive liquors, so the actual number of recipes I've made from this book so far is kind of small (limited to their "classic cocktails" section). However, this gives one plenty of room to grow and makes it possible for the book to appeal to all kinds of mixologists, from casual to more serious.- I'm sometimes frustrated by the lack of an index to their recipes, e.g. say I want to find all the recipes that include white (blanc) vermouth, well that isn't possible. I have to page through the various sections (Classic Cocktails, Gin Stirred, Gin Shaken, etc.) hoping to stumble upon this ingredient.

This book is crazy - it's by far the best cocktail book I've ever seen and incredibly unique in its approach. For one, it's beautifully made with a linen binding and gorgeous full color photos and illustrations. But what I really love about this book is all the details on how the bar works - there's a script of the bar staff testing a drink, considering what it lacks, suggesting additions or substitute brands that would improve the drink. I've never really thought about how a bar works together to put a new drink on the menu, but this book exposes the process over a few pages that's totally fascinating.Other things like a chart of how Death & Co. approaches "bartender's choice" shows you the "how to" side that I've only seen here in this book. I also enjoyed the staff notes on why they select one brand of liquor over another - why use Beefeater gin vs. Hendrick's, as well as some of the inspiration behind certain drinks "it's a whiskey sour but made with tequila", will change the way you think about making drinks. The book has one page essays about certain regulars and what their drink of choice is that make this world class, destination bar seem more like your neighborhood tavern and bring a kind of familiarity to the book.Finally, and my favorite part is that the recipes are great and most are easy to make at home - this isn't just a coffee table book, it's practical and I find myself reaching for it on a regular basis to actually make something from my home bar. You don't have to make lots of custom ingredients, fat-wash a bottle of expensive spirits, or do too much that's a pain in the butt.

Got it for my boyfriend for Christmas and he loves it! Lots of great recipes and fun tidbits from behind a professional bar he likes to read. It also looks super fancy and is great sitting on a coffee table or bar.